Fall Quilt Market 2012 - Part 1

Well, Quilt Market has just wrapped up and it was really amazing. Last year's Fall Market was a bit overwhelming, but after a year of learning more about the industry, this time around felt much calmer. It was sooo nice to see familiar faces and meet new people. I got to know some of the other crazy talented Michael Miller designers a bit more and to meet some designers I am completely in awe of. I took lots of pics, so I will break this up into two parts. This post is all Michael Miller, the next will be about everything else!

So, to start off with, here's my booth showcasing my new collection, "Les Amis"!

I split it between the two colorways, "Dusk" and "Dawn", as if the sun had already gone down on one side, and was just coming up on the other. 

I made little boy's ties out of every fabric in the Dusk colorway and they seemed to be a big hit, drawing folks in as they walked by. If you'd like to try your hand at making some, you can find the free pattern and tutorial here. They're surprisingly easy and quick to make and would make the sweetest gifts for anyone with little boys.

I had some pretty grand plans for this side of the booth, but when I realized I wasn't going to be able to finish the quilt I had designed to hang here, I had to come up with an alternative plan. I ended up sewing diagonal strips of all the different fabrics together and displayed them in large square frames. 

So that's the overview, and I have some pretty talented ladies to thank for all the help I received putting this booth together. It just so happens that about the time I received my fabric samples a month before Market, I also received another gift... morning sickness!! So while this news pleased my husband and I immensely, it also made preparing for Market almost impossible. 

Houston Modern Quilt Guild to the Rescue!

Three very lovely and oh-so-creative ladies graciously volunteered their skills: Sally Keller, Pam Biswas and Robin Woods.

First, Sally Keller offered to sew up not one, but two mini quilts, one for each colorway, with lots of hand embroidery. I love them both so much, and the hand lettering adds such a charming touch. You can check out her blog and see more of her handiwork here.

I was lucky enough to have Pam Biswas offer to do the quilting and hand-binding on the one quilt I did manage to get pieced together. I couldn't be happier with how it turned out... I think this is my new favorite quilt, LOVE!!

And, last but definitely not least, I owe Robin Woods many, many thanks for making me TWO cathedral windows and SIX pairs of baby booties! I don't know where she found the time to make them between working and having a life (and with only a week and a half to do it), but make them she did! Can I use any more exclamation points?

Seriously though, I think the baby booties stole the show, they were just too stinkin' cute. And believe me, I'll be putting them to good use, my little one's going to have the best dressed feet in town. :)

Robin even set up this eye-catching display, shown here with my Sweet Owlie. 

If you want to make a pair of these little charmers yourself, Michael Miller has a free pattern here by Joanna Armour. But, if you'd just like to buy some already made, Robin sells them in her etsy shop, Whimbrella, along with fabric, totes, quilts, and other fun stuff.

I was planning to include the rest of the Michael Miller designer's booths in this post, but I think it's getting pretty darn long as it is, so looks like I'll be breaking this up into 3 parts!

And I'd better hurry up because come the weekend I'll be posting about Quilt Festival and the 2nd Annual Quilt Festival Modern Meetup hosted by Houston Modern Quilt Guild on Saturday night. Which promises to be a whole lotta' fun with great door prizes by sponsors like Cloud9 Fabrics, Fat Quarter Shop and Anna Maria Horner. You should definitely stop by, it's in the Lobby Bar of the Hilton Americas (connected to the George R Brown) and starts at 7 pm. Check out this link for all the info.